A Walk to Remember
by owlsong489
Summary: Frank and Alice finally decide to test the waters with an official date to Hogsmeade. Fluffy like a down comforter in the middle of winter.


**A/N:** Everything belongs to JK Rowling.

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><p>Alice stood in front of the mirror in the sixth year Gryffindor girls' dorm. She turned from side to side, adjusting her blue sweater over and over. Her short light brown hair wasn't cooperating either; she kept tugging at it and pulling it behind her ears before fluffing it out again.<p>

She heard someone laughing behind her and turned to see Lily standing in the doorway with a smug look.

"Go away, Lily. Especially if you're just going to make fun of me," she said, turning back to study her reflection one more time.

"Oh come on Alice. It's Frank. Your best friend Frank. Well best friend aside from me." Lily walked forward to sit on the trunk closest to the mirror. "Its not like he's going to run in the opposite direction if you don't look perfect. And at least you decided against wearing that awful red shirt."

"You don't know that Lily! What if this turns out to be one big mistake?"

"Alice, you need to stop worrying. The two of you are almost disgustingly cute together. And Frank's got it bad for you. He almost tripped into the Devil's Snare after you said yes."

Alice laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but Frank trips over his own feet all the time."

"Frank in his right mind would never stand that close to Devil's Snare. That was all you. You need to just relax and have fun. I know you like him, and obviously he feels something too since he asked you out."

"Okay, okay. Fine." She turned to pick up her coat and scarf from her bed. "Look. I'm calm and cool and collected."

Lily laughed and threw a pillow at Alice, who just barely dodged it. "Good. I'm glad to see it. Now go! The sooner your date starts the sooner you can snog his face off."

"Merlin, Lily. You are unbelievable." Alice laughed and rolled her eyes, picking up the pillow and throwing it back at Lily as she walked out of the dorm.

She made her way down to the common room where the two of them had planned on meeting. When she hit the last step she saw Frank seated in one of the big armchairs by the fire. She couldn't help but smile and feel a bit better when she noticed that he also looked nervous. Of course when he looked up to smile at her, she also couldn't help the sudden turning of her stomach. Those stupid butterflies, now was not the time.

"Hey Alice. You ready?" He stood as she got closer, grabbing his own coat off the back of the chair.

"Yep. All ready!"

They chatted about the usual things as they walked through the corridors of the castle, catching up on the latest gossip and complaining about the most recent essay that Professor McGonagall had assigned. Passing through the Great Hall and out onto the grounds, Alice pulled on the green knit cap that Marlene had recently given her. It was the product of a passing knitting hobby, but it was warm at least.

Frank laughed and Alice shot a glare in his direction.

"You're just jealous you don't have such a stylish and warm hat."

"Yes, that's definitely it. You caught me," he said, throwing his hands up in surrender.

"Oh shut up. It's warm."

"No, its cute! You make it look good." Frank said. Alice smiled, unable to help the blush spreading across her cheeks.

They continued the walk to Hogsmeade, both a little more conscious of the fact that they were on a date now. The pair of them had spent plenty of time alone together in the past six years at Hogwarts, but everything seemed to have shifted now that they were potentially more than friends.

Once they made it to the village they both decided to stop for food at the Three Broomsticks. They found a small booth in the back and ordered some soup, sandwiches and butterbeer. Now that they were sitting in such a tiny space, Alice suddenly began to feel even more nervous.

The place was packed and very warm. Or maybe that was just her. Their usual banter slowed while they ate, but both kept sneaking looks at each other. Alice almost dropped her spoon from her mouth when she felt Frank's leg bump against hers under the table. She looked up at him and noticed him smirking at her. Well that was certainly unexpected. And now she was certain she was blushing. She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed.

"Alice, I just want to say thanks. For coming out with me today. I wasn't sure if you would want to. And I was just really worried it would be awkward, you know. But, this is nice."

"Yeah, it is," she responded with a smile.

"And I know this might just ruin it. But Alice-" he paused, pushing his soup around in the bowl. He looked back up at her, taking a deep breath. "Alice, I really like you. And yeah, I know you're my best friend. But… I ah… its more than that. And I think you might feel the same."

Alice just stared at him for a minute, shocked and unsure if she could trust her ears. But seeing Frank's face, which had looked so happy and so honest just a second ago start to fall after her silence, she reached out across the table and grabbed his hand in both of hers. His wide eyes met her bright smiling eyes.

"Frank. I really like you too." He answered her smile with a huge grin of his own.

They finished the rest of their lunch quickly, smiling like fools the entire time. A cold winter wind blasted through the door as they left the pub. Alice shivered and Frank, standing next to her, grabbed her hand. Her small hand fit perfectly in his. And the way his thumb rubbed along the back of her hand sent a warmth radiating through her. She smiled and leaned into him as they made their way down the high street.

Having confronted the giant elephant between them, they fell back into their regular casual conversation, joking and laughing at each other's stories. Alice wanted to stop at Honeydukes to buy some of their homemade fudge to send home to her mom. Frank bought a couple of fresh cauldron cakes for the pair of them. They continued wandering through the village, snacking on their treats and looking in all the colorful window displays.

As the sun began setting behind the hills outside the village, the couple finally began making their way back to the castle hand in hand. It hadn't snowed in over a week, but there were still snowy patches along the side of the road, and ice was forming now that the temperature was dropping.

Frank was busy reenacting the latest prank that James had pulled on Sirius and didn't seem to see the ice he was about to walk into. He was still holding Alice's hand in his left, but his right arm was flailing above his head, imitating the way Sirius had been rudely awakened by hanging upside down from the ceiling of their dorm. One step onto the ice and he was suddenly falling to the ground, sliding a few feet forward. Alice, who had tried to quickly catch the two of them, was soon being pulled down to land next to Frank. She fell back completely, her head hitting the ice and hair falling out of her hat, spreading around her face.

"Ouch!" she cried, although she couldn't help the laughter that was starting to spill from her mouth.

"Oh, Alice! Are you okay? I'm so sorry. I didn't even see the ice. Merlin, Alice!" Frank grabbed her hand, which she had pressed over her face. Her cheeks were flushed and she was shaking with giggles.

"I'm fine! Really, Frank!" she took great gasps of air, trying to calm herself.

He was leaning over her, his face searching hers to make sure she wasn't actually hurt. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized how close they were. He was staring at her so intently, his hand coming to her cheek. She leaned into his palm without even thinking and he smiled down at her.

"Frank?"

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me?" she practically whispered.

But he heard her. And without a second thought he leaned down to press his lips to hers. Her hands quickly wrapped around his neck, pulling him down, pulling him even closer. She sighed as he ran his hands through her soft brown hair. Turns out their lips were perfectly suited to each other too. They moved in sync and Frank couldn't help thinking of all the time they had been wasting if every kiss could be like this.

They finally broke apart, both a little breathless. Frank pulled back just far enough to look into Alice's eyes. Her face slowly broke into a grin and she pulled him back down for one more kiss. She could feel him smiling against her lips and she never wanted this to end. They finally broke apart, Frank running his fingers along her cheek.

"We should probably get back," Frank said in a soft whisper.

"Yeah, we probably should. It is a little cold down here on the ice," she said with a laugh.

"Oh right. Of course. Sorry," Frank stammered, standing back up before offering Alice his hand and pulling her up to her feet.

"Not that I'm opposed to a bit more snogging, but maybe we should watch out for the ice this time?" Alice asked.

Frank let out a booming laugh. "Sounds good. Come on, let's get you inside." He pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as they continued down the path back to Hogwarts.


End file.
